Number 16 in the 1991 MusiCards set is reggae legend Bob Marley.
This same source photo also appears on the cover for his iconic posthumous greatest hits album Legend. Note the synergy of the Legends subset using an album cover of Legend on a card. Originally released in 1984, it's the best-selling reggae album of all-time.
As for the card, this is Bob's only card in the set, though his son Ziggy also has a card, coming up in a little while at #70. I think it's the first MusiCard we've come to that uses an album cover as the picture, though a card for The Doors came close.
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| Bob Marley "Historic Posters" custom |
Dig that logo. As the TM would indicate, it's an actual logo that the Bob Marley foundation uses. Variations of it can be found on stickers, patches, and the like.
Marley, as you likely know, was an extremely popular musician from Jamacha who helped popularize the genre of reggae music worldwide. He was known for his rastafarian spirituality and outspoken support for the legalization of marijuana. His incredible life was cut short, sadly passing away from cancer in 1981 at the age of 36.
As for me, I love Bob Marley. I got a used CD of Legend as a teenager and listened to it a bunch.
Quick personal anecdote.. My mom took a vacation to Jamacha in the mid 70s before I was born, and among the highlights of her trip was discovering an impressive local musician. She brought home a vinyl copy of Catch a Fire and tried to introduce her friends to her discovery, only to realize that just about everybody in the US already knew about Bob Marley. lol
I'm not going to list out a "desert island disc" for him here, but if I did it would basically just be Legend, a damn near perfect collection of songs, though I'd probably swap out the edited live version of "No Woman No Cry" that fades out a couple minutes early for the full-length live version. Additional tracks I'd tack on would include "Lively Up Yourself", "Trenchtown Rock" (live), and "Iron Lion Zion"
I can't say I'm a reggae aficionado or anything (unlike my friend DJ Short Change), though I dig Bob Marley and a handful of other stuff, such as some tracks on the The Harder They Come soundtrack. I also enjoy the likes of The Congos, Lee "Scratch" Perry, and good ol' UB40. I can also get into some stuff from other folks out of the Bob Marley crew such as Bunny Wailer, Damian Marley, Ziggy Marley, and Peter Tosh.
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| Peter Tosh 1991 MusiCards-That-Never-Were custom |
I'm about where you are with reggae--love the Bob Marley classics, know the other basics, don't go much deeper than that. I find that if I come across reggae on the radio, I'll probably like it fine, but after a few songs I'm ready for something different.
ReplyDeleteOne important album that isn't as well-known is Two Sevens Clash by Culture, so that's something you might want to check out.
I'm not a reggae fan, but one of my favorite photos of my daughter as a baby is one where she is wearing a Bob Marley "Onesie Love" outfit my brother bought her. Also, "Three Little Birds" will always invoke memories as Shane Victorino's walk-up music for the 2013 Red Sox.
ReplyDeleteI've listened to Legend hundreds of times and am a huge fan of the album, but I don't think I own any of Marley's stuff outside of it. In regards to cards, I picked up a few really cool sketch cards featuring him though:
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